


I Can Love You More Than Stan

by harrytomlinsonwhoops



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 04:49:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrytomlinsonwhoops/pseuds/harrytomlinsonwhoops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, Stan comes. And he hugs Louis and then Harry and then the other boys and then Louis again, which- as if Harry really needed another reason to hate him. (Except he doesn’t hate him. How could he hate somebody that Louis loves so god damn much? Then again, maybe that’s precisely the reason why.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Love You More Than Stan

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT 2015: I've recently edited this to remove some derogatory slurs I didn't realise were harmful back when I was 17, when I wrote this. I apologise to anyone that was offended/hurt by this.

It’s not that he didn’t _like_ Stan. Because he did. Of _course_ he did, because Stan was Lou’s best friend. That wasn’t the _only_ reason though, honest. Stan was like, fun and carefree and so much like Louis, yet so different. Stan was like Louis’ other half.

(Except that he wasn’t, he just wasn’t because that was _Harry’s_ job and nobody, not even a guy that Louis had known _forever_ was going to take that away from him.)

*

So, they’re in Mexico. Which is like, all _kinds_ of amazing, of course. And he’s just chilling on his bed after their flight there and then Louis bounds into their shared room (literally _bounds,_ like some sort of Disney character, what the actual fuck) after having disappeared for twenty three minutes to take a phone call (it’s not like he was _counting_ the minutes, alright? He just- fuck it).

“Guess what, guess what, guess what!?” Louis squeals, and he’s literally _jumping_ up and down on the spot, like a little kid on Christmas morning.

(It’d probably be _super_ annoying, if it wasn’t so bloody  _adorable_ , Harry thinks.)

“What?” he replies, raising an eyebrow.

Louis looks like he’s about to _burst_ (no, really) when he half screams “Stan’s coming to visit!”

Harry’s initial reaction is basically _Louis looks so cute when he’s excited. God, I just want to kiss him_ but then the words actually make their way into his ears, and then he’s thinking _no, please no. This is supposed to be a band trip and this was supposed to be a Harry and Louis thing because I miss my best friend and if Stan comes it will all be ruined_ but Louis is looking at him with this _adorable_ expression of pure joy, so-

“That’s _great_!” Harry squeals right back, relaxing slightly as Louis engulfs him in a hug.

(He tries not to let on that he’s already planning how to somehow like, _lose_ Stan and leave him hear in Mexico forever.)

(The way he snaps at everyone besides Louis for the next two hours might be a _bit_ of a clue though.)

*

So, Stan comes. And he hugs Louis and then Harry and then the other boys and then Louis _again_ , which- as if Harry really needed another reason to hate him.

(Except he doesn’t hate him. How could he hate somebody that Louis loves so god damn much?

Oh- then again, maybe that’s precisely the reason why.)

*

So, they're on stage. And it’s going down like every other night and everything’s _fine_ but then they go off stage to get changed for the next few songs, and Stan is waiting _right there_ and help’s Louis take off his suspenders and Harry _hates_ him, hates him with a burning passion because Louis is _his_ best friend, not Stan’s.

(Yeah, Stan knew him first, but- fuck that. Stan never got to _live_ with Louis, so clearly, Louis was his.)

So he goes back on stage, and he’s pissed off (which is code for fucking _upset_ ) and then _More Than This_ starts playing, and fuck, he hates this song _so much_ , because he _is_ broken, and he knows that it doesn’t feel right whenever Louis is with Eleanor or Stan because he can just love Louis more than any of them can and it’s just _not fair_.

So, Liam sings the start of the song, and he _tries_ to not stare at Louis (really, he tries so _fucking_ hard) but he just can’t tear his eyes away from him.

So it comes to his part, and he stands up, ready to sing the song, and he knows that their vocal coach will tell him afterwards that he did a _crap_ job, and that ‘ _Harry, you really sounded so hurt, and it was amazing, but try and sound a_ bit _happier, alright?_ ’ afterwards, but he doesn’t care, because he _is_ hurt and he just wants Eleanor and Stan to _stay away_ on tour’s because he’s selfish and he doesn’t want anybody taking time away from _his_ Louis.

The first time, it just sort of slips out. It’s not like he _planned_ it (though maybe he had, at least a little bit). But like- his head is never really _clear_ during More Than This anyway, because it’s sort of _their_ song.

(Except it’s not, it’s just not, because Louis fucking love’s _Eleanor_ and not him and that’s why it’s only _his_ song.)

(That’s probably why singing it hurt so much, to be honest.)

He sings the first few lines, normally. _When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight, it just won’t feel right_ but then the next thing he knows, he’s _grinning_ like he hasn’t smiled in _months_ and he’s singing ‘ _cause I can love you more than Stan, yeah’_ and everyone’s fucking _staring_ but Louis is just _smiling_ at him, so he does it again.

 _When he lays you down, I might just die inside, it just don’t feel right, cause I can love you more than Stan, I can love you more than Stan_.

He moves back, and let’s Niall sings his part, and Harry can tell that the boys are like, all _shocke_ d, but hiding it, but really, he can’t wipe the fucking grin off his face, because he’s one step closer to telling Louis how he feels, and-

At the moment, he doesn’t even _care_ about the other boys reactions (he knew what they’d be already; Liam will probably lecture him, with this sort of proud _dad_ smile on his face while pretending that he is not, under any circumstances, thinking of Zayn, and then Zayn will tease him and sort of stare at Liam with his moon eyes and Niall will probably just clap his hands like a seal because Niall just _knows_ things, and he knows that Harry loves Louis and he just _accepts_ that) because he only cares that he’s basically just told Stan to fuck right off, because Louis is _his_ and nobody else’s.

Harry watches in silence as Louis moves to the front of the stage to sing his solo, and he still can’t stop smiling, because Louis is just _so_ beautiful and _so_ lovely and- god he just fucking _loves_ him, alright?

_When I see you on the street, in his arms, I get weak, my body fails, I’m on my ski’s, praying-_

Okay.

So like- that ski thing? That means _nothing_ , right? Because, sure, they went skiing together, and sure, Louis _may_ have gotten super drunk and kissed him that one time, but like- he also went skiing with Eleanor, so-

For fuck sake, can’t he be just a _little_ more straight forward?

(Of course not, because Louis is a fucking _prick_ sometimes.)

*

So the concert finishes, and he basically avoids the rest of the boys, because he just doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment.

He stares at Louis for ten seconds, and his best friend doesn’t say _anything_ , and then he kicks over a chair and storms off. He gets back to the hotel and locks himself in his room, and ignores Niall thirty minutes later when he’s banging on the door, and he ignores Liam’s numerous phone calls, and Zayn’s texts, and like-

He wouldn’t ignore Louis if _he_ came to check on him. But, Louis is probably off with Stan, so- fuck him. Fuck them _both_.

*

Two hours later, there’s a quiet knocking on his door, and it’s so quiet, that it’s _obviously_ not Niall, or Zayn, who would be knocking _very_ loud (and probably yelling out some choice words at him) and it’s not Liam, because Liam would have _called_ first, because that’s what Liam does.

So, of course it _must_ be Louis, so of course he opens the door.

It’s not Louis.

“Hey,” Stan says, awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other. Harry stares back at Louis’s best friend (he can’t pretend that he’s the _only_ one with that title anymore, no matter how much it hurts), silent. Stan frowns, before smiling. “Can I come in?”

He’s really tempted to say, _no, you can’t_ , and then slam the door in his face, but he _can’t_ , because Stan’s just smiling up at him, and just- he did nothing wrong. It’s just _Harry_ that’s fallen in love with his best friend, and Stan can’t help the fact that he had Louis first (just like Harry can’t help the fact that he has this uncontrollable urge to _punch_ Stan most of the time).

So he nods his head, and steps back, and lets Stan walk in the room.

“What’s up?” he questions him, and Stan shrugs, sitting down on the couch. Harry follows him after a moment, and sits down, waiting.

"Louis is my best friend," Stand begins. "I- we've been through a lot of shit together." Harry sort of grumbles something under his breath, causing Stan to beam at him, for some reason. "I was there when he had his first girlfriend, when his dad walked out, when he had his first boyfriend, when he got drunk for the first time, blah blah blah."

"I- _why_ are you telling _me_ this?” Harry questions, before pausing. "Wait. Boyfriend? What the  _fuck_ Stan?  _Why_ are you telling me this?" He repeats.

“Because,” Stan says. “I thought you should know.”

“Know _what_?" Harry explodes. "That _you're_ the best friend of  _my_ best friend? That you know him better than I ever will? Or that he's has been lying to me about his sexuality for the past three years? Or that-”

“No,” Stan interrupts. “I thought you should know that Louis _isn’t_ as straight as your management would like him to _appear_. I thought you should know that you have a _chance_.”

Harry’s still just _staring_ because that was like, a _huge_ bombshell for Stan to just drop on him, and-

“I don’t have a chance,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “He’s dating Eleanor, remember?” Stan actually _laughs_ at this, and God- Harry’s _seriously_ reconsidering his promise to himself about not hitting Stan.

“Dude, don’t you find it funny that all the magazine’s say that _you_ introduced Eleanor and Louis, and- you didn’t _meet_ the girl until Louis introduced _you_ to her?” he questions, _still_ fucking grinning.

“I- _what_?” Harry questions.

“Have you ever heard of the team ‘ _beard’_?” Stan questions, and Harry nods.

“Well- _duh_ ,” he says. “I’m a _guy_ , of course I know what a fucking beard is.”

Stan laughs, and Harry blushes. “No, a beard is like, a cover up,” he explains. “Like- okay, so when you’ve stayed at Lou’s, Lottie’s made you watch Glee before, right?” Harry nods his head, frowning, because he really fucking _hates_ that show. “Yeah, well, remember how the two girls were dating?” he questions.

“Yeah, the cheerleaders?” Harry questions.

“Yeah,” Stan says with a nod. “Well, Brittany- that’s the blonde one- loved Santana- that’s the really mean one- but Santana was too scared to come out, and like, admit she was gay _as fuck_ , so she found out that there was this other gay guy at their school, a football player,” Stan says, pausing for a second.

“Dave,” Harry recalls. Stan grins, and nods.

“Yeah, him. Dave was just as scared as Santana, if not more. So Santana talked him into pretending to date her, so that nobody would find out that they were both gay, right?” Harry nods his head, and Stan grins. “Well, that’s what beards are. It’s when a gay man dates a girl- she doesn’t have to be gay as well, by the way- and tells everyone that he’s straight, when really, he’s as gay as a fairy.”

Harry chews on his lip, frowning. “Okay- so, I'm really curious as to why you know all that about Glee, considering you're a grown ass man, but-"

"We can come back to that," Stan interrupts, cheeks slightly pink.

"Right," Harry agrees. "So- Louis and Eleanor?”

“Not really dating,” Stan confirms.

“Why the fuck didn’t he _tell_ me?” Harry questions, frowning.

“He didn’t tell anyone,” Stan says, shaking his shoulders. “I only knew because like, Lou told me he liked dick- very _exclusively_ \- back before X Factor, so I just figured it out…”

"God, does that make me an awful friend?" Harry worries. "For not figuring it out?"

"He's wanted to act since he was a baby, don't be ridiculous. Anyway, my point is, is that you have a _chance_ Harry. And trust me, I’ve never seen Louis look at anybody the way he looks at you- except maybe Taylor Lautner or something,” he adds, with a grin. Harry nods, silently as Stan stands up.

“Thanks,” Harry says, as Stan heads for the door. “And um- sorry about the _More Than Stan_ issue,” he adds, blushing. Stan grins, and shakes his head.

“Don’t sweat it,” he says, opening the door. “Shit’s true, anyway. You _can_ love him more than I ever did. But like, if you _don't_ love him as much as he deserves, I'll probably have to hurt you, or something. And I don't want to do that, mostly because I'm not sure I  _can_ hurt you, so like. Try to love him, please?”

Stan leaves a second later, and Harry still can’t decide if he wants to punch him, or kiss him.

(Though, he only ever wants to kiss Louis, so probably the first option.)

*

Ten minutes later, he’s banging on Louis’s door.

“I know you’re in there Louis, let me the fuck in,” he says, when there’s no response after two minutes. A second later, the door opens, and Louis is standing there, looking so confused, and it’s like- _get in line, buddy_.

“How could you not _tell_ me that you weren’t actually dating Eleanor?” is the first thing he manages to get out, and it’s not exactly like what he planned, but- he’s never been the best at planning anyway, so whatever.

“I’m going to kill Stan,” Louis says, his voice somewhat cheerful.

“Join the club,” Harry mutters, because, really, he’s not above admitting that he's still jealous that Louis loves someone that much.

Louis grins at Harry, all cheeky like. “Oh, is somebody jealous?” he teases, which-

“Fuck you Tomlinson,” Harry spits out. “Maybe I wouldn’t have been so jealous if you weren’t constantly _flirting_ with me,” Louis looks shocked, and Harry just can’t help himself. “Oh yeah, and _maybe_ if you didn’t go and make me fall _in love_ with you, and then go and date some  _girl_ , I wouldn’t be so jealous.”

Louis is staring at him in shock, but he just _doesn’t care_ , because he’s been waiting for _years_ to say that, so Louis can just suck it up.

“What exactly did Stan tell you?” Louis asks; his voice surprisingly calm.

“Not much,” Harry says. “Just that you were _gay_ and that Eleanor is just a cover up."

He hears a gasp behind him, and whirls around to see Liam, Niall and Zayn just standing there, _staring_.

“Hey guys, unless you want to stick around to see me either, a) punch Louis or, b) kiss him, I’d suggest you leave,” he says, casually. The boys stare at him, Liam looking _scandalized_ , Niall looking like he wants to like, jump up and down and cheer for them, and Zayn just looking like- Zayn. “Like, _now_ ,” Harry says, and they all turn and walk away, leaving Harry to turn back to Louis.

“I really think I’d prefer option b, rather than a,” Louis says, grinning. Harry smiles back, and feels all his anger evaporate, because- he just really fucking loves Louis, alright?

“You know, it’s funny you said that,” Harry says, taking a step closer. “Because I was thinking the exact same thing,” he adds, before cupping Louis’s face, and bringing their lips together, and- _oh_.

 _Why the fuck haven’t we been doing this forever?_ he thinks, and Louis laughs when he asks exactly that two minutes later.

“Because you were stupid and thought I was straight,” Louis says, grinning. Harry laughs loudly, and presses a light kiss to Louis’s head.

“I honestly cannot _believe_ I ever thought that,” he tells him. “I mean, god Louis, you were bright red jeans, and fucking _suspenders_ ,” he teases. Louis frowns, and lightly hits Harry’s arm.

“I’ll have you know, I’m very masculine,” he informs Harry. “I get thousands of girls asking for my number every day,” he teases.

“Probably because they want a gay best friend to go shopping with,” Harry snorts, causing Louis to laugh, and- this is _totally_ worth everything. Worth all the pain of the past three years, of not being able to date Louis. Worth the nine months of pain of thinking that Louis really loved Eleanor.

Basically, he would do _anything_ to hear Louis laugh, and to be able to kiss him whenever he wants.

So, he does just that.

*

After about half an hour of making out, they pull apart, and just sort of _stare_ at each other, and it’s- Harry’s seen Louis’s face basically every day for the last couple of years, but he’s never really _looked_ at him.

“Just so you know, I am forbidding you from ever seeing Eleanor again,” Harry says, casually, a moment later. Louis just laughs, and kisses him.

“Jealousy is a cute colour on you,” Louis teases. Harry groans, grinning at his boyfriend as he remembers  _how_ his jealous started this whole thing.

“I cannot believe I basically outed us to everyone before there was even anything to out,” he says. Louis just laughs, and tangles their fingers together.

“I love you,” he says, staring at Harry with a look of pure adoration.

“I love you too,” he replies, because he really, _really_ does.

*

He sends Stan a text an hour later, when Louis has fallen asleep.

 _Thank you_.

*

It’s not that he doesn’t _like_ Stan. Because he does. Of _course_ he does, because Stan is Lou’s best friend, and basically the entire reason that Harry admitted he loved Louis. That isn’t the _only_ reason though, honest. Stan is like, actually, nice, and fun, and he makes Louis laugh. He is Louis’s best friend

(And Harry would _gladly_ let him have that title, because now _he_ had the one of _boyfriend_ and really, that was _so_ much better.)

…

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading. i would truly love it if any of you could spare the time to watch this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEUumIaxM9M&app=desktop), and then consider sharing it or donating to [this cause](http://prf.donorpages.com/TeamEnzoFundraising/CatherinaLlontop/). a little boy that i know was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease called progeria. this disease causes him to age at rapid rates, and children who suffer from this have a life expectancy of only 15 years. enzo is currently the only child with this disease in the entirety of australia, and he and his family would appreciate any awareness you could raise or any funds you can spare. if you're unable to financially help, please consider even sharing the video so maybe it will reach someone who is able to. 
> 
> as usual, find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/slytherinlarry_) and [tumblr](http://slytherin-larrie.tumblr.com).


End file.
